‘A tip is a gift, not a guarantee’: Horsford bill aims to end taxes on tips, subminimum wage

Nevada’s Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford re-introduced legislation Thursday to eliminate the subminimum wage and end taxes on tips — adding to a popular policy proposal supported by Republicans and pushed by President Donald Trump.

“A tip is a gift, not a guarantee, and it’s beyond time that we recognize that in our tax code,” Horsford said in a statement.

The Tipped Income Protection and Support (TIPS) Act, which was first introduced last September, eliminates the federally tipped subminimum wage of $2.13 per hour and puts in place protections aimed to ensure millionaires cannot gift their fortunes to family members tax-free by claiming it’s a tip, Horsford said in a Thursday interview.

Federal legislators have multiple versions of bills to end taxes on tips. Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, re-introduced the No Tax on Tips Act in January to eliminate taxes on tipped income, and it includes provisions aimed to prevent people from taking advantage.

Horsford said he was working with One Fair Wage and other organizations to make sure one job is enough to earn a fair wage.

“The legislation centers workers and their needs so that we are making these jobs pay for themselves, and importantly, that we’re eliminating the tax on tips so that workers can keep more of the money that they’ve earned through their hard work,” Horsford said.

Nevada is the “gold standard” as one of few states without a subminimum wage, but that could change with action from the Legislature and the governor, he said. This bill would codify that as well as help the some 6 million tipped workers — 70 percent of whom are women and people of color — who are paid as little as $2.13 an hour across the country, Horsford said.

The congressman said he has met with Republicans, who have expressed support for provisions of his bill, and he will enlist his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get the bill passed and signed into law.

“If Republicans and Democrats … are serious about helping workers and making sure that they can keep more of their hard earned money, then this is the bill that does it,” Horsford said.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.